


The Wild Tail of Fur and Friends

by scottsalem



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adolescent Sexuality, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bisexual Character, Bisexual Remus Lupin, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gay Male Character, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Sexuality Crisis, Some Humor, Trans Male Character, Trans Sirius Black
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2019-12-30 16:57:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18319466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scottsalem/pseuds/scottsalem
Summary: Third year is a crazy time for everyone. Whether you're the average 13 year old Hogwarts student or, well, one of James Potter's friends, things are bound to start getting wonky.Join your favorite gang before they found their nicknames as they discover things about themselves, each other, and the furry little secret that's roaming the Forbidden Forest.





	1. Prologue Part 1- Slippery Slope

**Author's Note:**

> So hey, this is my first actual a03 post, isn't that wild? I've been meaning to do this for a while, but life kinda got in the way. Hate when it does that.  
> So yeah, the next part should be coming fairly soon, and I'm really excited for how all this is turning out.  
> Thanks for reading, and constructive criticism is always invited!  
> Cya~  
> S. Salem

“Black, Sirius!”

Sirius paraded up to the stool, ready to make her parents proud as the next heiress to the family name. Most of the other kids looked nervous- some chubby guy had nearly puked from nerves- but she was fired up. This was the moment she’d been waiting for her whole life.

The hat was plopped onto her head and covered her eyes, tightening like it was trying to eat her thoughts. 

_ Interesting…  _ it whispered into her mind. 

_ Very interesting. A Black, very proud of that no doubt. Want to impress your parents, don’t you? There’s a lot you don’t know about yourself, Sirius. And the best place to help you with that is… _

“GRYFFINDOR!”

Her face went numb, and the hat was removed.

She looked around the hoard of students that were watching her. They were screaming,  _ why was everyone screaming? _

Sirius was ushered off the stool and into the crowd of strangers in red and gold at the wrong end of the room. 

Her robe felt all too tight around her neck. What would her mother say? What would they do to her? And what about little Regulus? Would he sport the same blood red that she was now saddled with, further disgracing the family legacy?

She felt eyes on the back of her neck, and whipped around to see a girl with crimson hair to match the fresh crest adorning her robes. She had a soft smile and a yellow flower beret keeping her hair back on one side. 

“Hi, can I sit here?” 

Sirius gave her a quick nod and scooted over to give her room. A minute later, she still felt those eyes on her, and turned to see the girl still looking at her.

“Um, sorry, it’s just… I saw you get sorted and… are you alright?”

Sirius swallowed dryly. Food had apparently appeared on the table, but she felt she’d throw up anything she tried to swallow.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.”

She looked down at her hands and twirled the worry ring she always wore, watching the intricate pattern and Black family insignia spin around and around. The girl was still staring.

“My friend said he thought I’d be in Slytherin with him. Said it was the best house for people who’re smart and powerful.”

Sirius looked up at her to find her chipping at the pink nail polish on her right hand. She met her eyes in a smile that saw through her soul, past the name and insignia. Then she laughed and raised an eyebrow at the Slytherins across the room.

“Reckon you and I are too rebellious for that lot, dontcha think?”

Sirius chuckled shyly and turned to straddle the bench and face her.

“That’s a bold assumption, coming from a girl who hasn’t even told me her name.”

“What’s it matter? I’m right, aren’t I?”

The next thing she knew, everyone was standing up around her, and they were being ushered after a boy with a prefect badge set crisply next to the Gryffindor crest on his robe. It was hard to see through all the ruckus, but the girl’s red hair was like a beacon leading her way.

They finally got to the tower, and entered through a big painting of a rather large woman who kept insisting on singing opera, if you can call it that.

“Alright, this is the common room, where you can hang out, do homework, whatever. Girl’s dormitory is that way, boy’s over there. I suggest you all get some rest, big day tomorrow!”

Sirius took a moment to look around the room as the rest of the first years clambered up the stairs to their respective dorms. It was warm, cozy, very different from the chilly halls and dark tapestries of Grimmauld Place she was used to. Some upperclassmen were scattered here and there, relaxing on big armchairs and catching up with old friends. 

If she forgot about the wrath her mom would wreak upon her, she could almost see being comfortable in here.

_ Merlin,  _ what would she even say to them? Should she even say anything at all? It couldn’t be so bad to just tell them she made Slytherin like they wanted her to and fake it.

She yawned. It was getting late. She decided to go upstairs and try to get some rest, going over to the girls side staircase and running two at a time halfway up, when suddenly she was at the bottom again.

She shook her head. What happened?

She tried again, and found herself suddenly at the bottom of the stairs.

She tried again, and again, till her bottom was sore from falling on it so much.

She heard a chuckle from behind her, and turned to find that same prefect from before looming with an amused look on his face.

“Trying to be a peeping tom already? For shame!”

She shook her head in disbelief. 

“No, I’m-“

“Luckily, the stairs turn into a slide when sneaky little guys like you try to go up them.”

He put a foot on the bottom stair, and it immediately slid off as the stairs tilted upwards.

“See?”

Sirius stared at the prefect incredulously.

“But- but I’m a girl! My stuff is up there, my trunk- look for yourself, my name’s Sirius Black, I’m on the girl’s list!”

He shrugged and shook his head. 

“That’s weird… but even still, I don’t know what to tell you, there’s no way up there.”

She stared at the steps sadly, and plopped down on the couch in front of the fire. Why wouldn’t it let her up?


	2. Prologue Part 2: Moonlight Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sirius figures things out over an unexpected tea with a teacher at midnight.

The fire had died down a while ago, and her robe wasn’t quite enough to keep out the draft that was steadily creeping through the thin glass on the windows. Sirius shivered where she lay on the couch in the wrong common room, wearing the wrong color, and just felt so…

Wrong.

Just yesterday, everything had been perfect. She knew who she was, where she was going, what her whole future looked like, but now… she didn’t even know if she was the right gender.

Just then, she heard the portrait hole creak open, and saw a long shadow creep across the newly illuminated floor.

Sirius scrambled to pull herself together, sitting up straight on the couch as the figure grew longer in the pale moonlight, and then disappeared as the porthole swang shut.

“May I sit with you?”

She turned to see Professor McGonagall, her hair in a braid over her shoulder, with a robe wrapped around a white nightgown. It was odd- without her bun and usual high collar she looked softer, motherly almost.

Sirius nodded briskly and McGonagall set herself gracefully on the other end of the couch, where she surveyed the room a little bit before pointing her wand at the fire, which roared back to life.

“This was my common room, you know.”

She pulled a mug from each pocket of her robe and set them on the coffee table.

“Many of my favorite memories are set right here, on this very couch! Biscuit?”

She had produced a small tin from yet another pocket in her robe, which Sirius politely declined.

“Well at least have some tea, it’s awful cold in here.”

Sirius picked up the mug closest to her and was surprised to find it already filled with nice warm tea. She sipped it meekly.

“It is not a rare occasion that a young man attempts to access the girl’s dormitory-“

“But I’m not a young man, I-“  
McGonagall raised an eyebrow, and Sirius stopped to let her finish.

“However it is also not a rare occasion that a young witch or wizard is born in a body that does not match who they truly are.”  
Sirius sat back in the couch, mind reeling.

“It’s not talked about much, because many people don’t have to think about it. They’re born either a witch or a wizard, and that’s what they stay their whole lives, but a lucky some find out, some the harder way, that that’s just not for them.”

She smiled at Sirius lightly.

“Were you like me, Professor? Were you- born wrong?”

She shook her head and sipped her tea.

“No, Sirius, I was not. However I do know a great deal of powerful wizards and witches who were. Might I just say that this is not the first time I’ve had this talk.”

Sirius smiled too, and took the last sip of nice warm tea out of the mug. A warmth was spreading across his chest- and he definitely was a “he” now, he thought- and it wasn’t just from the fire or the tea.

“Everything’s been rearranged to accommodate this development. Your trunk has been moved to the boy’s dormitory, and you’ll be rooming with Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin, Mr. Pettigrew, and Mr. Longbottom. A few new clothing items have also been provided- just a few simple shirts and trousers to help you along until you can gain access to a tailor or clothing store.”

Sirius grinned at his teacher, almost not believing what she was saying. He could almost forget how his mother would surely- oh no, his mother.

“And my family, did you tell them about… this?”

She stopped and set her mug down.

“We have not, though we can if you’d like.”

“No!”

She turned in alarm, and Sirius steadied his breathing.

“No thank you, Professor, I’d like to tell them myself.”

She stood up and took her mugs from the table.

“Alright. Whatever you feel is best.”

Sirius stood up as well, and started walking towards the boy’s staircase before turning around.

“Professor McGonagall?”

He caught her as she opened the porthole.

“Thank you.”

She smiled warmly at him, and gave a subtle nod.

“Get some rest, Mr. Black.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! Wow, Scott’s actually doing things! Wild, huh?  
> Anyway, this is the last prologue chapter before we get into the really juicy stuff- just kind of a set up to let you all know where Sirius is at when the real story starts up third year.  
> It also makes a few jokes make more sense so... be glad you read it!  
> Anyway, I won’t keep you from the story. The next part should be up next week! That’s right- a scheduled posting time!  
> As always, criticism is welcomed and thoroughly enjoyed.  
> Thanks-  
> ~SS


	3. Is Red A Boy's Color?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's now third year and Sirius is acting a bit... strange. Stranger than normal, that is. James has a bit of a revelation.

There was always something odd about Sirius Black, but James could never quite put his finger on it. Something was wrong. He knew his best mate like the back of his hand, so he thought, but he did know he could be quite thick when it came to people.  
It was in transfiguration towards the end third year when it got really strange. It was finally warm out, and a sleepy lull had settled over the room while everyone patiently waited for break to come so they could enjoy the day. It was so sleepy in fact, that some people had actually fallen asleep. Peter seemed to be slipping in and out, while Remus was totally dead to the world and drooling on his satchel two seats away. James could never have slept, though, not with the sunlight hitting Lily’s hair like that. Every so often, she’d lift her head from where she sat hunched at her work and tuck it behind her ear or pull it over her shoulder, and the motion would make the whole crimson mass glitter like rubies. It was all he could do not to jump up and run his fingers through it, just to see it move again.  
“Merlin, Sirius, isn’t she gorgeous?”  
“Hm?”  
“Isn’t she gorgeous?”  
Just then, she sat up and tilted her head back, shimmying the whole glorious thing like a waterfall before tying it all up with a green scrunchie.  
“Ugh, look at that! Merlin, I just wanna go over and caress that hair.”  
He heard his mate chuckle.  
“Caress, that’s at least a two knut word. Good job, Jimmy!”  
James turned and elbowed him in the chest playfully.  
“You know what I mean, you git.” He sighed.  
“It’s just so perfect and shiny! Don’t you just wanna…”  
He couldn’t find the words, and instead just made flailing grabby motions towards her hair before turning back to find a very confused looking Sirius.  
“Right? Am I mad?”  
He just shrugged and shook his head, and the two boys soon succumbed once more to the heavy quiet in the room.  
A few moments later, James felt a shoulder pressing against the arm he was leaning on the desk. He turned to find Sirius laying his head on the desk, facing the sleeping Remus.  
“Whatcha doin there?”  
He shifted slightly, probably to get more comfortable.  
“What do you think he’s dreaming about?”  
James was slightly taken aback. His voice was so soft, so sweet-a direct contrast to his usual harsh tone.  
“I- I dunno man, why?”  
“He’s just so peaceful,” Sirius nearly sighed, and gently brushed a few hairs away from Remus’s forehead.  
“I mean yeah, I s’pose…”  
He seemed to be completely lost in his admiration, ignoring James completely.  
“It’s just- his face is so…” he trailed off, fingers centimeters from a long scar snaking its way up his cheek.  
“I wonder how he got those.”  
“Sirius, are you alright?”  
Finally Sirius sat up to face his friend for real, apparently confused by the genuine concern on his face.  
“Yeah, I’m fine, why?”  
“It’s just- you’ve been acting really weird lately. I mean, you were just watching Re sleep and sighing. What’s going on with you?”  
Sirius barked out a dry laugh. His eyes shot down to his left hand, the middle finger of which was adorned with an ornate worry ring that he was spinning restlessly with his thumb.  
He was quiet, and his face was slowly flushing. Never a good sign.  
“Sirius,” James said firmly, probably louder than he should have. Those blood red locks whipped around to give a reproaching glare, but seemed to... soften slightly? He dismissed the thought.  
“Sirius, what’s-”  
“Meet me outside please?”

The scraping of his chair on the stone floor awakened several students, and their sleepy eyes trailed him as he handed his parchment to Mrs. McGonagall and flew out of the room in a blur of cloaks. James raced to follow him, feeling that stunning pair of green eyes the red usually hid prickle the back of his neck as the door slid shut behind them.  
“Sirius,” he called to the swiftly retreating mass of black hair and red robes. “Sirius, wait!”  
Just as he started to jog to keep up, Sirius whipped around in a ball of fury and came straight at him, holding him to the wall with his wand at the ready.  
“Who told you? Huh? If it was McLaggen I will flog his bastard arse halfway to India.”  
“W-what? Sirius, I don’t know what you’re talking abo-”  
“You know bloody well what I’m talking about, everyone’s heard the rumors.”  
His eyes were dark in a way James had never seen, and suddenly he was being grabbed by the collar and lifted into the air.  
“WHO TOLD YOU?”

James put his hands up in surrender, his heart racing as he felt the wand press deeper into the vein in his neck.  
“Sirius,” he said calmly, “I assure you, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He chuckled nervously.  
“It’s me! It’s James! I’m your best mate, you can trust me! What’s going on?”  
The wand attached to his best friend’s hand quivered, the anger melting from his eyes. Then, as suddenly as he was attacked, he was let back down to the ground. Sirius stared at James, flushing in horror at what he’d just done.  
James ran a hand through his hair to steady his nerves and pushed his glasses up his nose.  
“Now,” he continued, wondering what his dad would do. “What’s going on?”

Sirius swallowed hard, looking back to the ring on his middle finger.  
“I-”  
His voice caught in his throat. He seemed to try several times to say something, but nothing came out.  
He sniffed.  
“It’s just I-“  
“Hey.”  
James put a hand on his shoulder.  
At that Sirius seemed to lose all composure, curling into James’s chest as he was wracked with sobs.  
Very confused and surprised, he put his arms around his friend, who he was now extremely aware was a 13 year old child.  
“Shh, shh, hey, Sirius, it’s okay! It’s okay…”  
Sirius gripped at his shirt for support. James buried his face in his hair, muttering calming things. He remembered a song his mom sung to him when he used to have nightmares and was tempted to hum it. But then Sirius finally reemerged, his face red and tear stained.  
“You’ll still like me, right? If I tell you?”  
James put his hand on Sirius’s cheek.  
“Of course I will! You’re like my brother!”  
Sirius smiled, closing his eyes in a look of tearful tranquility.  
“James, you know I’m too attractive to be related to you.”  
“Sirius.”  
“Right, sorry,” he chuckled, putting his hand over James’s.

“So, James… the rumor is that I- that I um… that I like blokes.”  
James pulled back slightly.  
“That- that you like blokes? But that doesn’t make sense, you’re a bloke, blokes like other blokes, that’s why we’re friends!”  
Sirius laughed again and opened his eyes.  
“I should’ve known you’d be thick about this.”  
James shook his head, dumbfounded.  
“James,” Sirius said slowly, “I like blokes like you like Lily.”  
The words took a second to connect in his mind. How did that make any sense? How he liked Lily was…

And then he got it.

This was why he wouldn’t talk to or look at anyone in the dressing room before quidditch. This was why he showered first and closed his bed curtains immediately afterward. This was why-  
“So earlier, when you were looking at Remus…”  
Sirius pursed his lips in a sad smile that just barely reached his eyes. James beamed.  
“Oh that’s brilliant! Two of my best mates, dating!”  
He shook Sirius by the shoulders, who was now laughing shrilly.  
“Not so loud, you bloody banshee, he doesn’t know I like him! I don’t even know if he likes blokes himself!”  
James was beside himself with the thought of them together. It was just too good!  
“But wait, have you ever thought of me like… y'know, that way?”  
Sirius went all pink.  
“Well, yeah, but you’re straight as the stick up McGonagall’s arse, aren’t ya? Took me about two seconds to get over that.”  
He had to think about that for a second.  
“Honestly, I don’t know now. I didn’t even know that guys were an option until today.”  
Sirius smiled at him in a way he’d never seen before. Or maybe he was just looking closer.  
“Well, I’ll let you mull that over for a little while. I’m gonna go find my puddin’ pop and bug him into making daisy chains with me.”  
James laughed at that. He could never tell when Sirius was joking.  
“Alrighty then, you have fun.”  
“Always do, Potter!”

He watched the form of his best friend skipping away, a whole new world having just been opened up to him, but also a whole lot of questions.  
Could he like guys in that way? And not only that, could he like Sirius?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this took a while, but I did it! End of the school year is coming and responsibilities suuuuck.
> 
> Anyway, hope you liked it, more should be coming soon.
> 
> ~S. Salem


	4. On Kisses and Cryptids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James's crisis comes to a head as some spooks start going bump in the night.

It was troublesome, finding out guys could like guys as well as girls. Because that opened the book for anything! Two guys could like one another, so why not two girls? If two girls could, then what about more? Could three people who all like each other be… dating? And how would that even work?

He’d even heard tell of some guy first year who had thought he was a girl until the stairs to the dorms wouldn’t let him up! Could people be told they’re one thing their whole life and turn out something completely different?

That one he knew the answer to. Sirius was living proof! He’d been told since birth that he’d be a Slytherin, hate muggleborns, marry a woman and join the Death Eaters, but here he was- an apparently gay (Sirius told him that word) Gryffindor with a vast collection of muggle rock!

Long story short, apparently the world was not as simple as he thought it was, and even that wasn’t very simple to begin with.

* * *

 

It was late, probably around eleven thirty, and the gorgeous full moon was shining through the window of the boys dormitory. All of them were up of course, it was a Friday night, what else would they be doing?

Sirius was conjuring little birds to fly around the room tweeting, and Peter seemed to be having a contest with himself as to how many chocolate frogs he could eat without throwing up. Remus was out visiting his mother- she’d been in hospital with some awful disease since first year, and every month he’d go to visit. It was sort of a system.

So James was mostly left alone with his thoughts.

Such as whether or not he did indeed like men.

“Sirius?” His voice cracked a little. Damn these nerves.

“Hm?”

“How’d you know?”

The birds stopped and zipped back into his wand as he rolled onto his stomach to face James.

“That I’m devilishly handsome? Well that’s quite the long story, you see-”

“No, you dolt, how’d you know you were… y’know.”

Sirius stared at him for a second blankly, before working it out and sitting up.

“Oh. Oh, yeah- that. Well I um… I realized that while you and Re and frog-boy over there were noticing the girls, I was… noticing you all.”

“Wait, what?” Peter’s mouth was coated with sticky chocolate. It was actually really gross to look at and hear words from.

“I’m gay, James is questioning, and you’ve got chocolate all over yourself, do try to keep up, Petey.”

Peter looked back to his chocolate frogs in his far too common look of befuddlement, and muttered something about needing the loo before leaving in a hurry.

“Anyway, you all started talking about kissing girls and stuff like that and… none of it ever… did anything for me. But thinking about kissing you? Kissing _Re_?" He leaned back, a dreamy look on his face. " _Merlin_ , there’s an idea. His lips look so soft, have you noticed?”

“I suppose so…”

“Well of course you wouldn’t have, you haven’t actually looked. Take it from me, pal. That man always looks like he has lip gloss on.”

James tried to think about Remus’s lips, what they looked like, but he just came up blank. He could actually see Sirius’s though. They were kinda bigger, and the bottom one jutted out slightly, giving them a pouty sort of look. They were nice, as lips go. But would he like kissing them? Could he really picture himself kissing another guy?

“Earth to Potter, are you there?” Sirius waved a hand in front of his face and he snapped back to reality.

“Sorry, I just… I’ve got a lot on my mind right now.”

Sirius shrugged with a smile.

“That’s fair. It’s not easy to figure out if you’re gay or not.”

James nodded and pushed his glasses up his nose.

“Have you ever kissed a guy?”

Sirius’s face started to flush.

“Well, um… technically, not really no. But spiritually, mentally? I’m an absolute slag.”

James smiled shyly, and Sirius’s eyes got wide.

“Why, were you… were you thinking about…?”

“I mean if it’s okay with you, just so I can know for sure…”

“Right, obviously. It’s nothing huge.”

“No, of course. If nothing- if nothing ‘happens’, then…”

“Definitely, nothing will change between us.”

“Yeah.”

There was a moment where the two were just sitting there staring at each other, hearts racing. Then they stood up at the same time as if by telepathic communication, and Sirius pulled James into his arms rather roughly.

Sirius was slightly shorter, but not by much. He hadn’t noticed that before.

He put his hands on Sirius’s shoulders- yeah that seemed like the right move. They were moving closer, and…

They were kissing.

Yes, indeed, their lips were touching.

It was soft at first, tentative, and Sirius brought his hand up to hold James’s cheek. That hand on the cheek turned into a hand in the hair, two hands in the hair, and then two arms around the neck and they were pressed so, so close- and then it was over.

James had pulled back and opened his eyes to find that Sirius was still frozen with his eyes shut, barely even breathing. After a moment his eyes found their way mostly open again, but they seemed dazed and dreamy- a look James was sure he had when he looked at Lily, but most definitely not after kissing his best mate.

He cleared his throat slightly, pulling his eyes away from Sirius’s and letting go.

Sirius seemed to snap back to reality, and did the same.

“Right, sorry- kinda, uh… forgot what we were doing there.”

Sirius laughed at himself, probably to break the tension, and sat cross-legged on his bed.

“So… anything?”

James halfway smiled.

“Well, you’re a decent kisser, I’ll give you that. Not that I’ve had much experience.”

Sirius looked down at the bed for a second before puffing out his chest loftily and speaking in a comical impression of Sir Gideon.

“Why, thank you, kind gentleman, I’d hazard to say the same of you.”

James chuckled.

“But…”

James eyed the floorboards and ran a hand through his hair. He looked up to meet Sirius’s eyes apologetically, and the dejected look he found there was gone as soon as he saw it, replaced with a nearly manic grin.

“Hey, it’s okay, buddy! Now we know, yeah? Plus…” Sirius flopped onto his stomach on the bed, chin in his hands in an overly cutesy way.

“Now I get to say I was the Infamous James Fleamont Potter’s first kiss!”

“Oh, can it, you twat!”

James took a swing at him, easily dodged by jumping under the covers.

Getting under the covers did seem like a good idea, it was getting rather late, actually. The full moon was no longer easily visible from the window, and-

“James?”

Sirius was sitting up very straight, like a tracking dog that just caught a scent.

“What?”

“Did you hear that?”

James strained his ears.

“Hear what?”

Sirius shook his head and held up a finger as he snuck towards the window, slowly unlatching it and swinging it open.

After a few moments with the window open, James heard what he was talking about.

Coming from the woods, there was a long, low mixture of what seemed like a man’s agonized wailing and a wolf howling at the same time. He turned shocked to Sirius, to confirm that they were hearing the same thing. There was only one thing that made a sound that horrifying-

  
_A Werewolf._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooooo, that took a turn for the canonical, didn't it!? This might actually go somewhere! Not quickly though, of course- finals and all.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading! We're getting into unwritten territories, so be patient haha. All good things come in time.
> 
> ~S.Salem


	5. Full Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The identity of the werewolf gets revealed, and things get serious.

“A  _ werewolf? _ You’re sure it wasn’t just someone in the forest?”

James stared incredulously at Peter.

“Would we tell you this if we weren’t absolutely certain?”

Peter scratched at the patchy tufts of peach fuzz dotting his cheek and wrinkled his nose.

“I mean, I could see this being some prank to get me running around the school at midnight, as always, but…” 

Sirius raised his eyebrows and tilted his head. Peter looked back and forth between his two friends and sighed.

“How can I say no to you two?”

Sirius let out a huge laugh and jumped up to do a little dance. James clapped his hands, his mind racing as to where to start investigating. He was starting to put the pieces together, he just needed a little factual nudge to help out.

“So, as much as I know you wanna run out there and see it, I already have an idea of who it could be.”

Sirius stopped dancing.

“ _ Who?  _ Whattaya mean,  _ who?  _ It’s a werewolf! A savage beast!”

“Easy there, Walburga, not all of them.”

Sirius furrowed his brows and played with his worry ring.

“My mum said she had a friend who got bit by a werewolf but didn’t join the pack- she didn’t like what she’d become. Tried to hide it! She even had her dad chain her in the basement each full moon so she wouldn’t hurt anyone. So my thoughts are, it’s something like that.”

Peter was nodding with vigor, an intense look on his face.

“So you’re thinking it’s one of our classmates!”

“Exactly. Good job following, Pete.”

“But who?”

James smiled, and looked to Sirius, who seemed to have worked out his train of thought. He had that glimmer in his eye and was grinning ear to ear.

 

“Wanna say it together?”

Sirius laughed.

“Of course!”

“1... 2… 3…”

“ _ Snivellus! _ ”

“ _ Remus! _ ”

Sirius cocked his head in bewilderment.

“ _ What?? _ ”

“Think about it! You like the guy, you must remember when he’s gone to visit his mum.”

He shook his head and squinted. James grabbed an astronomy textbook nearby and started thumbing through it.

“Well tonight, obviously.”

“Right, full moon.”

He found the moon phase chart and stopped.

“Last time?”

“Why would I know the exact date?”

James looked up and cocked an eyebrow at him. He grimaced.

“It was the sixth of February.”

He pushed his glasses up his nose and found that date on the chart.

“Full moon.”

Peter grabbed the book and looked for himself.

“Before that?”

“The eighth of January.”

“Full moon.”

James leaned in to look too. Sirius furrowed his brows.

“December tenth?”

“Full moon!”

“November tenth.”

“Full moon!”

“October twelfth!”

“Full moon, full moon, full moon!  _ You guys! Remus is a werewolf! _ ”

 

Peter’s eyes looked ready to pop out of his head. Sirius slumped onto his bed and put his head in his hands in shock. James rocked back to lay on the floor and ran his fingers through his hair, staring at the ceiling.

Sure, he’d already had an inkling he might’ve been, but to have it confirmed, was…

“That explains the scars. Mother said they tear their human skin off every time they transform. Though I suppose she’s probably not a reputable source.” Sirius’s voice was muffled slightly, like he was talking through his hands.

“And the chocolate loving. Dad always says it has powers that heal your soul. He’s probably so sad about this whole thing.” Peter seemed to still be frozen in shock, and his voice was squeaking a lot.

An awful thought occurred to James.

“Or maybe he just thought it would kill the dog part of him.”

“Bloody hell, James.”

“Yeah man, that’s dark.”

“I mean it’s plausible.”

They all sat in silence for a while. The levity had disappeared from the room, and even Sirius was quiet.

This was something that was actually serious for once, not just another one of their bonkers one in the morning schemes.

“You know, how could we not have seen it? It’s right there in his name, for Merlin’s sakes- _Remus Lupin._ _Wolf wolf_.”

Sirius was the first one to speak up, alleviating at least a little bit of the tension. Peter wheezed out a nervous giggle.

“So how do we help him?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back for another one! This took a lot longer than I expected, but here we go!   
> As always, feedback is much appreciated.   
> ~S.Salem


	6. Hey, Funny Question...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids slowly unravel who the werewolf could be and how they can help, as well as having a bit of a rowdy time in the cafeteria.

Remus’s bed was still empty when James woke up. The books they’d snagged from the library were still scattered across his bed, many opened to pages on werewolves or the lunar cycle.

Almost none of it had been helpful. Most of the stuff on werewolves was either how to fight them or survive if they attacked, but there were three facts that every book agreed on:

  1. Transformations are always very painful.
  2. The days leading up and coming down from the full moon are like the worst hangover ever.
  3. Humans should never approach a transforming werewolf unless you want to be mincemeat.



Sirius burst open the washroom door, the top three buttons of his shirt still undone and a manic look in his eyes.

“What about animals?”

James jumped.

“What do you-“

“Because they all say humans shouldn’t go anywhere near a transforming werewolf, blah blah blah, but what about animals?”

James shook his head at Sirius, who had now taken to pacing the circle around the stove at the center of the room.

“How would that be helpful?”

“Well it’s a stretch, but I’ve been thinking about how we’d be able to go out there with him on full moons, and then I remembered that werewolves won’t usually attack their own pack- but then how would we become his pack? Well, we’d either have to be werewolves ourselves, which honestly I’m not a big fan of doing,  _ or _ we could turn ourselves into other animals and go out with him! Maybe he’d be able to remember his friends by scent and if we’re animals too-”

“But how would we  _ become _ animals, Sirius? I mean, I know I’m decent with transfiguration, but that would be seriously tricky-”

“What do you know about animagi?”

James’s eyes widened. Peter piped up sleepily from the bed at the far side of the room.

“What’s goin’ on?”

“Animagi, Petes. What d’you know about them?” Sirius gushed.

“Well, you’ve got to apply with the ministry to be one, and you’ve got to be an adult.”

He scoffed.

“Boring. Anything else?”

“Well, the spell takes a few months to complete, at least,” James joined in. “And it’ll most definitely be in the restricted section.”

“Wait,” Peter closed his eyes in concentration. “Let me get this straight… you’re suggesting we take a _very_ _complicated_ spell from a book in the _restricted section_ , do it not once, but _three_ times, and become unregistered animagi against the law?”

James and Sirius nodded vigorously.

“For what reason, exactly?”

“To help Re through the full moon!”

“When we’re not even entirely certain he’s a werewolf?”

This put a hole in their plan.

“But we are,” James said, getting up to start getting dressed. 

“We could follow him next full moon, see for sure.” Sirius reasoned, plopping down on James’s bed.

“Or we could just ask him,” James replied simply.

“How in the hell would that conversation go, ‘hey Remus, how’s it going buddy? By the way, how was the full moon this go round?’”

* * *

“Hey Re, how was the full moon?”

James slapped him on the back as they sat down at breakfast, causing him to wince and choke on his pumpkin juice.

“I- uh, fine. It was.. fine.”

“How’s your mum? Still sick as a  _ dog _ ?” Peter piped up, causing the other two to snicker.

He squinted at them.

“Yeah, I don’t know why that’s funny to you guys all of a sudden, but yes.”

All of them burst out laughing when Sirius added, “Yeah, we must seem  _ barking _ mad to you right now, huh?” 

Remus glowered at the other three, taking a few heavy breaths before leaning in close.

“Look, I don’t know what you three are on about but whatever it is-”

Suddenly deadly solemn, Sirius cut him off.

“We know, Re. We know about you and where you go. Your mum’s not sick, is she? That was just a lie so no one would know you’re a we-”

He was thrown back as Remus lunged across the table with freakish agility, one hand clamped over his mouth and the other one squeezing at his throat in a way that Sirius knew would leave bruises as both went crashing to the ground. 

For a moment, he was legitimately scared for his life.

Then a curtain seemed to lift in Remus’s mind and he pulled back, eyes wide and starting to shimmer as he bolted from the mess hall pursued by Professor McGonagall. 

 

“Sirius, are you alright?”

James leapt up to hold out a hand to his fallen friend. Weakly, Sirius made a beckoning motion and James leaned in close to him.

“We did learn one thing,” he croaked melodramatically. “Lupin is one kinky motherfucker.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this took forever, but here it is! Hopefully I'll be able to post some more now that I'm a bit less busy. Thanks for reading and as always, criticism is appreciated.
> 
> ~S.Salem


End file.
